Container carrier



April 11, 1961 .1. VESAK 2,979,226

CONTAINER CARRIER Filed Aug. 12, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ilma nvw-wrok c/OSEPH VESHK April 11, 1961 vEsAK 2,979,226

CONTAINER CARRIER Filed Aug. 12, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEA/T'O RdOSEPH VE'SHK April 11, 1961 J. VESAK CONTAINER CARRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Aug. 12, 1957 INVEM DR JOSEPH VESHK 977'ORNE April 11, 1961 J,VESA 2,979,226

CONTAINER CARRIER Filed Aug. 12, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR JOSEPH LA-539k United States Patent CONTAINER CARRIER Joseph Vesak, Vancouver,British; Columbia, Canada, assignor, by mesne assignments, to UnipakCartons Ltd., Vancouver, British. Columbia, Canada Filed s- 1 7, Ser.No. 677,560

4 'Claims. Cl. 220-405 This invention relates to a carrier-forcontainers; such as bottles, cans and the like;

Many carriers have been designed in the past for bottles and the like,and having handle arrangements by means. of which the carriers may becarried while inclosed or sealed condition. However, withmost of theprior carriers,.the carrying handle becomes inoperative once the carrieror carton is opened. Some attempt has beenmade to carry. such carton-sthrough the transverse partitions thereof when the carrier is open. Asthe side walls of the carton are comparatively long, this'results insaid walls-tending to bow inwardly. This action is not desirable, anditleads to a tendency of the glue connecting the transverse partitions tothe side walls giving way..

The presentcarrier has a handle arrangementincluding a handle which maybe utilized'to carry the carrier when the latter is either closed" oropen. The above-noted defects areeliminated by a longitudinalipartitionwithin the carton which is securedat'its ends to. the. .end Walls ofthecarrier casing. As these walls arevery'short in thedirectiontransversely of the carrier, there is little likelihood of thembowing inwardly; Inaddition to this, the longi-. tudinal partition isconnected to the end walls at thetop ofthe casing so that when thelatter is sealed. closed, the top thereof braces theend walls toeliminate any possibility of said walls bowing inwardly. The weightofthe carrier and its load is taken through the endgwalls of the casing,the longitudinal partition, and the handle since said parti: tionincludes means forlimiting the upward movementof said handle when it ismoved to its outerposition. Furthermore, the, upper edge of thelongitudinal partition is pref erably immediately below and inengagement with the easing top when the latter is closed so that saidtop tends to take some of the weight at this time. Asthe carton isusually closed when it iscarried from thestore to, its destination, thatis the time it has its full load. and; when, it is. necessary. to reducethe possibility of. the handle. pulling out to an absolute minimum. Oncethe carrier, is opened, the .reinfOrci-ng action of the casing top. islost, but the. load is usually less at this, time, and the carrier isnot usually carried any distance. 01; for any length. of. time, and isnot subject to the, same. abuse. thatit might, be; on the street.

The cell forming unitofthe; present carrier is suchthat when in thecasing,.the latter. and saidunitmay be folded or collapsed into aflatbundle for shippingandstoring. In order to,.erect the. carrier, itis. only necessary to. swing the carrier. casingfrom its fiat to itsopenposition, alljWlllGl'I time. it is in the. form of a rectangularcasing. The-bottom is formed by folding end and-side flaps over in theusual manner, asis the casing top. The transverse dividersof the cellforming unit and the longitudinal partitionlthereof are such that the,dividershelp to retain the-partitionin its central longitudinal positionrelative to the carrier casing throughout the length thereof. Suitablemeans; is, provided for connecting. the; ends of. thelongitudinalpartition t9 the adjacent end walls of thecasing sothattheaload at 2 all timesi's taken throughsaid end walls regardless ofwhether the casing is open or closed.

A container carrier according to the present invention comprises acasing having side and end walls, a bottom and a top, averticalpartition extending longitudinally of thecasing centrallythereof, means connecting the ends of the longitudinal partition to theadjacent end walls of the casingfirmly to retain said partition inposition, spaced verticallateral dividers extending from the partitionto the side walls forming therewith a plurality ofcontainer-receiving-cell's, a handle connected to the longitudinalpartition and movable vertically relative thereto, and meansonthepartiitionfor limiting the upward movement of the handle,saidhandl'ebeingmovable from an inner position completely withinthecasing to an outer position projecting above thezcasingtopwhere it maybe grasped for carrying purposes,v said upward; movement of the handlebeing stoppedby the 'limitingmeans onthe partition.

\ An examplerofthis invention is illustrated in the accompanying,drawings, in which, Eigure. Lisa perspectiveview, of. the carrier inclosed or. sealed. position, with -the.handle completely therein,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of; the top of the closedcarrier.withthe-handle-projecting from the top thereof in the,carryingposition,

FigureJ ,isaflatlay-out ofthe material forming the longitudinalpartition and-transverse dividers. of the carrier 7,

. Figure; 4 is. aperspeotive view of .one formof longitu: dinalpartitionand transverse divider arrangement in the erected, position but withthecarrier casing omitted, said arrangementalso including the handle, inits. upper posi! tion,

gure 5' is acrloss. section taken on'the. line 5-5 of Figure 1,.showing, the carrier in its erected position,

Figure 6' is.a view. similar to Figure 5, but showing thecarrier: partway between itsfiat and erected position,

Figure 7 is a vertical section taken on the line 7-7 ofFigure 2,, with,the handle in its upper or carrying positibn,

Figured? is a cross section taken through the. carrier takensubstantially onthe line. 8 8 of Figure, 7,

1 Figure-9 is a. fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 8,. butwith the handle in its lower position within the carrier,

Figure 10 is afragmentary perspective view-similar to Figure 4with thehandlein thelower position thereof, and

Figure 11, is a perspective view similar to- Figure 4 of an. alternativeform of. longitudinaland'transverse divider, arrang ement-,xbut, withthe handle in its lower position.

Referring to the. drawings, 10 is a container carrier comprisingacasing, 11 having a-bottom 12, end walls 14 and 1.6, sidewalls-18 and19, and a top 21. This top includes side flaps 23 and 24' hingedlyconnected to side walls 1 8 and 19, respectively. It also includes endflaps 26 and Z'Zintegrall'y connected respectively withthe end walls15'and'16. When the topis closed, as shown in Figure 1, side flaps 23and-24 are folded inwardly over inwardly-folded end flaps 26and 27 inthe usual manner. These flaps are secured together by suitable fasteningmeans, such as glue or staples. The casing bottom 12 comprisesa similarside and end'flaparrangement to that of top 21, as is customary withcasings or cartons of this type. The side and end. walls, and bottom andtopflaps areformed from a single piece of material, such as card- 1board; corrugated cardboard and the like.

in order to form limited access to the interior of the carrier withoutopening the top thereof.

A longitudinal partition 42 is located within casing 11 A and extendslongitudinally and centrally thereof, as clearly shown in Figures and 6.'This partition is preferably formed of a single piece of materialfolded over at 43 to form an upper edge and sides 45 and 46 for thepartition. A slot 47 is formed in the folded-over edge 43 centrallythereof.

Suitable means is provided for connecting the end of the longitudinalpartition to the adjacent end walls 15 and 16 of the casing. It ispreferable to provide at least one flap at each end of the partition forthis purpose. In this example, flaps 48 and49 are connected to the sides45 and 46 at one end of the partition, and flaps 51 and 52 arerespectively connected to said sides at the opposite ends of thepartition. These flaps are connected to the casing end walls in anyconvenient manner, such as by means of glue or staples. It is, however,preferable, to use glue. In this case, it will be noted that either flap48 or flap 49 is narrower than the other, and in this example, theformer is narrower than the latter, see Figure 4, so that glue appliedto the outer faces of said flaps can secure both of them directly to endwall 15. Flaps 51 and 52 are made in the same manner. This flaparrangement securely fixes the ends of partition 42 to the casing endwalls.

By referring to Figures 7 and 8, it will be noted that the upper edge 43of the longitudinal partition is immediately below casing top 21 whenthe latter is closed. It is preferable to have the partition edgebearing against the closed top at this time in order that said top actsas a reinforcement for the partition. Furthermore, the lower edge 50 ofthe partition is preferably spaced above the casing bottom 12, seeFigure 8, although this is not absolutely necessary.

A plurality of spaced dividers 53 and 54 are located on opposite sidesof partition 42 and extend between the latter and the side walls 18 and19 of the casing. These transverse dividers may be connected only to thecasing walls or only to the partition, but it is preferable to connectthem to both, as shown.

Each transverse divider 53 has a neck 55 at the upper end of its inneredge 56. This neck is connected to partition side 45. The main portion58 of this divider extends downwardly from-said neck to a lower edge 59.This edge may be at the casing bottom 12, but it may be spaced a littleabove said bottom, as clearly shown in Figure 8. Each divider 53 has aflap 61 on its outer end bent relative thereto, said flap beingconnected to the adjacent side wall 18 by glue or the like.

Each divider 54 has a neck 64 at the upper end of its inner edge 65which is connected to the side 46 of partition 42. The main body 66 ofthis divider extends downwardly from the neck to a lower edge 67 spaceda little above casing bottom 12. Each divider 54 has a flap .69 on itsouter end bent over and secured to casing wall '19 by glue or othermeans. With this arrangement, the transverse dividers extend upwardlyfrom near the bottom of the casing to the bottom of the longitudinalpartition which is substantially midway up the casing.

As the transverse dividers are connected to the side walls of the casingand to the sides of the longitudinal partition, they tend to brace saidpartition against lateral movement. They combine with said partition andthe casing walls to form a plurality of cells 72 for receivingcontainers, such as bottles. The transverse dividers keep the bottlesseparated from each other throughout a substantial portion of the heightthereof. As the bottles usually taper inwardly towards the tops thereof,they cannot come into contact with each other while in the casing.

By referring to Figure 4, it will be seen that the flaps 69 of dividers54 are interconnected by a connecting strip 74. This strip keeps theouter ends of the dividersin their proper spaced relationship, and it isalso connected to the side wall 19 of the casing by glue or other meansso that it helps to make a secure connection between the dividers andthe wall. Flaps 61 of dividers 53 are interconnected by a connectingpiece 75.

A handle 78 is slidably mounted relative to longitudinal partition 42 inany desired manner. In this example, the handle has a main body portion79 slidably fitting between the sides 45 and 46 of the partition andextending longitudinally of the carton. A projection 80 extends upwardlyfrom the body portion and through slot 47 in the upper edge of thepartition. This projection is integrally connected to the body portionand is formed by folding the material forming same over at 82 so thatsaid projection is made up of a double thickness of material, as clearlyindicated at 83 in Figure 8. A hand hole 86 is formed in projection 80,said hand hole extending through both thicknesses of the projection.Flaps 88 cut out to form the hand hole may be left attached to theprojection at the upper edges 89 thereof for strengthening purposes.

It is desirable to provide the handle projection 80 with tabs 92 and 93at opposite ends of the top thereof and projecting from its oppositefaces. These tabs project ing downwardly as well as outwardly so thatthey do not interfere with the upward movement of handle 78, but they doprevent the upper end of the handle from dropping down inside thelongitudinal partition 42 by engaging the upper edge of said partition,see Figures 9 and 10.

Projection 80 of handle 78 is long enough to extend through partitionslot 47 when the handle body portion 79 is down to the casing bottom 12.At this time, the handle body portion constitutes a wall of the cells72. Furthermore, the handle projection is completely within the casingso that the latter may be closed and sealed, as in Figure 1. The handlemay be drawn upwardly by means of projection 80 until the upper edge ofthe body portion thereof engages the folded over edge 43 of thelongitudinal partition. This limits the upper or outer movement of thehandle. As seen in Figures 7 and 8, the projection 80 extends above thecarton top at this time so that the hand hole 86 is fully exposed.

Figure 3 illustrates how the longitudinal partition 42 and transversedividers 53 and 54 may be formed from a single piece of material. Thispiece of material or blank 95 is folded longitudinally centrally thereofat 96 to form the folded over edge 43 of the partition. Slot 47 is cutout along this edge. It will be noted that this slot is comparativelywide so that its edges are below partition edge 43, see Figure 4, whichpermits the upper part of projection 80 to be grasped when the handle isin its inner or lower position. Flaps 48, 49, 51 and 52 are formed atthe ends of partition sides 45 and 46. A plurality of diagonal slits 99are cut in side 45 in order to form dividers 53. Similarly, a pluralityof diagonal slits 100 are cut in side 46 to form dividers 54. Connectingpieces 75 and 74 are formed along the outer (lower) edges of dividers 53and 54, respectively.

When the carrier casing and cell-forming unit are erected, as shown inFigures 4 to 6, end flaps 69 of dividers 54 extend in one directionwhile end flaps 61 of dividers 53 extend in the opposite direction. Inaddition to this, flaps 48-49 and 5152 extend transversely of thecarrier casing in opposite directions from the longitudinal partition42. This makes it possible to collapse the container into a flat bundle,said carrier being shown partly collapsed in Figure 6.

When the carrier 10 is to be used, the containers or bottles areinserted in cells 72 with handle 78 in its inner or lower position. Thetop flaps 23-24, 26-27 are foldedinwardly and secured in the usualmanner. At this time, there are no projections from the carton to get inthe way during storage or shipping.

When it is desired to carry the carrier, flaps 37 and 3 8 are foldedupwardly, at which time it is possible to insert the thumb and fingerinto the casing 11 to grip theupper portion of handle projection 80 atslot 47 in the longitudinal partition 42. The handle may now be drawnupwardly until the hand hole 86 is completely out of the casing. At thistime, the handle body 79 engages the upper folded-over edge 43 of thepartition to limit the outward movement. of the handle. As the partitionis secured to the end wall Hand 16 of the casing, said partitionprevents further outward movement of the handle. As previously stated,it is preferable to have the partition edge in engagement with. the.closed top 21 of the casing so that said top tends to brace thepartition when the carrier is under full load and at times when it is.most. likely. tobe subjec to ome abu After the. cover flaps are. raised,to. Open the casing, thev latter may stillvbe. carried y me s f the andlsince the weight is transferred. thro s carton end walls to the;partition, flaps. and to he partiti h nc itis: transferredtothe handle.through the folded over edge 43 of; the. partition which. con i me ns.fo limiting the outward movement of the handle. As previously stated,the transverse dividers may be connected only to the longitudinalpartition, or the side walls of the casing. In this case, they would notbrace the partition against lateral movement, but they would merely actas spacers between the bottles in the casing.

Figure 11 illustrates an alternative form of partition and dividerarrangement 105 that is quite similar to that illustrated in Figure 4.The arrangement 105 includes a longitudinal partition 42a withtransverse dividers 53a and 54a. The longitudinal partition includesfoldedover sides 45a and 46a. End flaps 108 and 109 are connected to theends of side walls 45a and 46a, respectively. It will be noted that flap108 is bent over in the same direction and is located beneath flap 109.These flaps are secured to an end wall of casing 11 of the carrier bymeans of glue, staples, or the like. Similarly, flaps 112 and 113 areconnected to the opposite ends of side walls 45a and 46a, respectively.These flaps extend outwardly from the longitudinal partition in adirection opposite to that of flaps 108 and 109. Flaps 112 and 113 areto be secured to an end wall of the carrier casing by glue, staples, orother means.

The arrangement of fiaps 108109 and 112113 in Figure 11 provide a veryfirm fastening for the longitudinal partition 42a to the end walls ofthe carrier casing. They also help to stabilize said longitudinalpartition. In other words, these flaps reinforce the longitudinalpartition, and in addition to this, they tend to reinforce the entirecarrier.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A container carrier comprising a casing having side and end wallsformed of a single strip of material formed into a rectangle, a bottomand an operable top connected to edges of said strip of material, saidtop when closed having a longitudinal slot therein centrally thereof, avertical partition fitted in the casing extending longitudinally andcentrally from end to end thereof, said partition having an upper edgelocated immediately below and bearing against the casing top when thelatter is closed, stop means on the partition along the upper edgethereof, flaps connected to the ends of said partition and havingportions extending parallel to an adjacent end wall of the casing, saidflap portions being connected to said end walls by suitable securingmeans, spaced vertical lateral dividers extending from the partition tothe side walls forming therewith a plurality of containerreceivingcells, a unitary handle at and movable vertically relative to thelongitudinal partition and aligned with the casing top slot, said handlebeing completely within the casing when the top thereof is closed and inline with and near the casing top slot and being of such size as to beable to move through said top slot, and means on the handle for engagingthe partition stop means to limit upward movement of the handle, saidhandle hammer able from within the casing through the top slot to anouter position projecting above the casing topwhere it may be graspedfor carrying purposes, said upward movement of the handle being stoppedby the partition stop means and the closed casing top bracing thelongitudinal partition under load when the casing is being carried bythe handle, said partition taking the full load when the casing top isopen.

2; A container carrier having a casing comprising side and end walls anda bottom; an interior assembly fixed to said casing defining adjacentrows of article receiving compartments; said interior assembly includinga unitary member constituted by a pair of integral complementary primarypanel portions connected together along a common upper edge andextending along the entire longitudinal axis of the carton to form alongitudinal partition; a plurality of lateral dividers partitioningeach of said adjacent rows into a plurality of adjacent articlereceiving compartments; each of said lateral dividers being integrallyconnected, at the inner end thereof, with said longitudinal partition;the upper edge of each of said lateral dividers extending outwardly anddownwardly from the longitudinal partition, a portion of, the, loweredge of each of saidlateral. dividers extending outwardly and downwardlyfrom the longitudinal partition and the remaining portion of said loweredge being adjacent to and extending parallel with said bottom so as toafford protection to the lower portions of articles in adjacentcompartments of the same row, said portions of the lower edge of each ofsaid lateral dividers being integrally connected by a vertical edgespaced from and parallel to said longitudinal partition; and means forsecuring the outer end of each of said lateral dividers to an adjacentside wall of the carton.

3. A one-piece blank adapted toform a unitary member constituting aninterior assembly defining adjacent longitudinal rows of articlereceiving compartments within a container carrier having a casingcomprising side and end walls and a bottom; said blank being cut andscored to provide a pair of complementary primary panels integrallyconnected together along at least one common score line and adapted, onfolding along the latter, to form a longitudinal partition extendingalong the entire longitudinal axis of the carton; each of said primarypanels being cut and scored to provide a plurality of secondary panels,a plurality of auxiliary panels, and an ancillary panel, each of saidauxiliary panels spacing apart a pair of said secondary panels; each ofsaid secondary panels being adapted, on folding of the blank, to extendat right angles to said longitudinal partition so as to form a lateraldivider, said lateral dividers partitioning each of said adjacent rowsinto a plurality of adjacent article receiving compartments and eachbeing integrally connected at its inner end to said longitudinalpartition; each of said auxiliary panels being adapted, on folding ofsaid blank, to extend at right angles to each of said lateral dividersand to be integral with the latter at the outer end thereof to form ahingeable tab adapted to be secured to an adjacent side wall of thecarton; each of said ancillary panels being adapted, on folding of theblank, to extend at right angles to said lateral dividers and to beintegral with the lower end of each said hingeable tabs and beingadapted to be secured to an adjacent side wall of the carton; each ofsaid primary panels being so cut and scored that, on folding of theblank, the upper edge of each of said lateral dividers extends outwardlyand downwardly from the longitudinal partition whilst a portion of thelower edge of each of said lateral dividers extends outwardly anddownwardly from the longitudinal partition and the remaining portion ofsaid lower edge is adjacent to and extends parallel with said bottom ofthe carton so as to afford protection to the lower portions of articlesin adjacent compartments of the same row, said portions 7 of the loweredge of each of said lateral dividers being integrally connected by avertical edge spaced from and parallel to said longitudinal partition.

4. A container carrier comprising, a casing having side and end wallsformed of a single strip of material formed into a rectangle; a bottomand an operable top connected to edges of said strip of material, saidtop when closed having a longitudinal slot therein centrally thereof; avertical partition fitted in the casing extending longitudinally andcentrally from end to end thereof, said partition having an upper edgelocated immediately below and bearing against the casing top when thelatter is closed; stop means on the partition along the upper edgethereof; spaced vertical lateral dividers extending from the partitionto the side walls forming therewith a plurality of container-receivingcells; a unitary handle at and movable vertically relative to thelongitudinal partition and aligned with the casing top slot, said handlebeing completely within the casing when the top thereof is closed and inline with and near the casing top slot and being of such size as to beable to move through said top slot; means on the handle for engaging thepartition stop means to limit upward movement of the handle; said handlebeing movable from within the casing through the top slot to an outerposition projecting above the casing top where it may be grasped forcarrying purposes, said upward movement of the handle being stopped bythe partition stop means and the closed casing top bracing thelongitudinal partition under load when the casing is being carried bythe handle, said partition taking the full load when the casing top isopen; and tabs at opposite ends of the top of said handle, said tabsbeing positioned and adapted to engage the upper edge of said partitionwhereby the downward movement of said handle, relative to said partitionis limited.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,598,920 Keith June 3, 1952 2,609,137 Toensmeier Sept. 2, 19522,687,232 Arneson Aug. 24, 1954 2,704,617 Stieve Mar. 22, 1955 2,742,182Hickin Apr. 17, 1956 2,765,972 Samsing Oct. 9, 1956 2,850,206 PasjackSept. 2, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 462,376 Canada Ian. 10, 1950

